Movie Review
One of them happens to be the righteous householder Muralikrishna (Balakrishna) in Ananthapuram. Another is raised by Sadhus in Benaras as Akanda (Balakrishna). Murali Krishna builds hospitals and schools in his area. People love him. In Karnataka, an evil person kills mathadipathi and takes his place. He appoints Varadarajulu (Srikanth) to run the mining company in Rayalaseema.
Newly appointed collector Sarwani (Pragya Jaiswal) and state environment secretary (Poorna) suspect Varadarajulu's company of mining uranium under the guise of copper. On the other hand, Sarvani quickly falls in love with Muralikrishna and marries him.
Meanwhile, an incident brings Muralikrishna into big trouble and Sarvani is suspended. When Sarvani's daughter is in danger, Akanda (Balakrishna) shows up to save her and protect the region from the mining mafia.
Analysis
Akanda, the third act in the combination of Balakrishna and Boyapati, begins without much fuss and goes straight to the point. This is a simple story. Frankly, the story is an updated version of Boyapati's hit films, closer to 'Legend'.
The first half is passable with a romantic track between Balakrishna and Pragya Jaiswal and some fights. It's more of a rehearsal for the arrival of the titular character - Akhanda. When hope fades, when evil spreads its wings, Akhanda comes!
As soon as Akhanda enters the stage, the drama goes on a joyous journey with Balakrishna in his massive 'sadhu' avatar delivering powerful dialogues. In the second half, the initial parts are riveted. Akhanda's looks and performance steal the show. However, as Boyapati peppers the story with the pounding mass elements we've seen in his earlier works, the novelty and grip quickly wears off.
The predictability of the story kills the interest. Akanda is a mighty force with divine powers on his side, but the villains seem very weak. Without strong opposition, Akhanda's superhero character also becomes bland. Yes, there are some very well-choreographed fights. But they are repeated. After a point we feel why Akanda is still fighting, he can easily break them with one punch. Moreover, one scene after another turns into the "rise of the hero".
The best part of the movie is Akhandan's get-up design and Balakrishnan's performance in the role. The disappointment is that it offers nothing but these two aspects. There is neither fun nor romance in the film. As usual, Boyapati ignored the logic part. The NIA probe and Poorna's role is a case in point.
Fortunately for Balakrishna's die-hard fans, there are moments to enjoy. Both are not the same” give them a chance to clap.
As for the performances, Balakrishna excels as Akanda. This is one of his best mass characters and he seems to have enjoyed playing it. The film is entirely his play. Balakrishna roars like a lion.
Boyapati introduces his protagonists as MLAs (Catherine Tresa in Sarrainodu) and IAS officers (Pragya Jaiswal is a collector and Poorna is a principal secretary), but after a few scenes he reduces them to playing conventional hero roles. Srikanth gets the look right for a villain but not as impressive as Jagapathi Babu looked in 'Legend'.
Among Thaman's numbers, 'Jai Balayya' works, but it is his background score that stands out. Thaman has delivered one of the best background scores. His work elevated many sequences in the second half. Ramprasad's camera work is eye-catching.
Conclusion: Director Boyapathy's 'Akhanda' is a massive film aimed at die-hard Balakrishna fans. Balakrishna roars as Akhanda, which will attract the fans, but the film drags on as expected with long action stunts, unnecessary dialogues. The beaten death story is another matter.
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